Of Charr and Heroes
by Alistair Ruadh
Summary: You might be asking yourself "Is this a Kissing book?" And I reply that it has fighting, sports, chases, escapes, magic, true love, and heroes. How can you really say no to that? Slight AU.
1. May the games begin!

Gently the water from the stream gushed past as a slightly off-key melody filled the air. At the side of the river was a man with short red hair, and two bangs tracing the outside of his face. He relaxed gently, his eyes closed as he hummed to himself, waving his feet with the melody he recited. A stem of grass moved to the other side of his mouth lazily. From this point, you could just barely hear the bustle of Ascalon City, it's walls glowing in the morning sun. On the other side, the bells of Ashford Abbey rang out in the morning air.

From above the young elementalist, a leaf fluttered down, swooping and falling until it landed perfectly on his nose. With an unhurried air, the man sniffed at the leaf, trying to persuade it to go away with the least amount of effort. The leaf proving more resilient than he'd though, Red pulled his hand out from behind his head and swatted at it, knocking it away. With a huge sigh, Red sat up, running his fingers through his hair to clear any grass or dirt. Slowly he clambered to his feet and stretched with a yawn. The teen's robes were a light purple with a red trim around the seams.

"Guess I'd better get going... Don't want to be late." Red murmured to no one in particular. With an air of not wanting to do what he's doing, he set off down the road, his hands stuck firmly in his pockets.

Shortly behind him, ran a smaller girl, her purple hair tied in a sloppy bun. She had a piece of buttered bread sticking out of her mouth as she ran, a worried expression across her face. She wore a light purple skirt with a matching shirt on top, highlighted in blue along the seams. She raced around the trees, nearly tripping over a few roots on her way.

'First day of academy and I wake up late, crap!' She scolded internally. 'Karria, when are you going to buy a new rooster, and why did you have to torch that last one?' She continued her inner monologue, set on autopilot as she sprinted to the capital city. A few moments later, she caught sight of a similarly dressed man, lazily walking in the same direction as her. In moments she caught up to him and stopped to catch her breath.

Red looked at the girl in amusement. She definitely looked like the type who wasn't used to being late to anything. Wearily, Kar looked up at the bemused expression and blushed furiously. Pulling the bread out of her mouth, she stood up and looked him in the eye.

"Aren't you worried that you'll be late?" Her anger wasn't particularly impressive. Red looked down at her, easily a foot taller than she.

"Because I'm in no hurry." Was the simple reply.

"Fine, see you there, maybe. If they let you in." Karria snapped, turning and running again, her shyness blown away by this rude and lazy man.

Red watched as she went, lowering his gaze a bit as she went. He smirked and continued shuffling along the road. He hated the academy; it gets people killed.

Karria sighed, glancing nervously around her. She wasn't used to being near this many people at all. All around her were people her age, and all socializing. All the men seemed to be trying to impress the girls, and the girls were having none of it as they shunned the boys at every pass. She looked around and spotted a man leaning against a wall, dressed similarly to her, only with black lining on his robes. She approached him slowly, stopping about a yard away. He had dirty blond hair cut short around his head. Karria raised her arm in a wave at him.

"Er... Hi there, I'm Karria Darakiin... May I know your name?" She asked awkwardly. The teen looked at her, then looked away silently. It was apparent that he wasn't talking. Karria glared suddenly at him and repressed the surge of fire that had suddenly entered her mind.

'Anger won't solve the issue here.' She thought to herself, turning away from him.

Meanwhile, at the gate on the other side of the courtyard, Red slipped in. As he took his fifth step in, the gates slammed shut behind him, the bell ringing signifying that Academy was in session. Several rugged individuals lined the stage at the front of the court, being the trainers of the classes. The way the Academy worked was each profession was broken into sections, at which point those sections were broken down into groups of three, and a teacher. Eying the crowds movements, Red maneuvered into the group of elementalists, blowing kisses at the female mesmers as he walked. Most glared, while a few giggled.

Karria watched his display with disgust, crossing her arms over her modest bosom. She never got hit on by guys... 'Not that I want to be hit on by that _slob_!' As they teens all settled down, the eldest of the instructors pulled out scrolls and read out names. Karria eagerly awaited her group, not taking in the scenery around her. The walls were bleached stone, glowing beautifully in the morning sun, not a cloud in the sky. After the third group was called, a small female instructor stepped forward. She had blond hair down to her mid back, and wore exotic black and golden robes. She smiled happily at the crowd of students, white teeth making her even more attractive.

The sage old Elementalist smiled and read from the list, like it was programmed into him: "Miela, Lady of the Willow. Elementalist first class. Students are as follows..." He paused for dramatic effect, grinning beneath his beard as he watched the crowd draw in breath in anticipation.

Karria shivered, she knew she was going to be this woman's student, but who were her partners going to be?

"Karria Darakiin, please come to the front and stand with Miela." Karria bounced a curtsy and hurried to the front, smiling shyly shaking hands with the radiant woman and standing beside her, hands clasped in front of her, eyes towards the ground. The sage smiled and turned to the list again. Running his finger down the page as if he'd lost his place, he had to bite his tongue. The look on every person's face was hilarious, most looked so worried about who this next person would be, they looked like someone had just announced their new sibling was a Bog Skale.

"Jakob Amos, please come to the front and stand with Miela." Karria jumped as the man she'd tried speaking to earlier stood up and walked towards them, a completely expressionless face bestowed. He shook hands with Miela and stood to her other side, crossing his arms and staring away from everyone else.

The sage gave up the whole dramatic bit at this point, simply naming the next name: "Red Talisin come to the front and stand with Miela." Red smiled lazily as he made his way to the front. He looked down at Miela and shook her hand, smiling happily at her before shooting a glance at Karria. He winked.

Internally, Karria was ready to throw this guy down the side of the castle. Not only was he late, cocky, and annoyingly attractive, but now he could make her blush! She humph'd in the opposite direction and raised her nose disapprovingly. Red sighed and shrugged, looking at Jakob as if to say "Women..." Jakob ignored him, turning even further away. Miela laughed at their antics before turning back to the rest of the selection process.

As everyone was sorted into their groups, the instructors began to move their groups out the gate and back into the field. After a short but silent walk, Miela and the three apprentices arrived at the base of a large oak tree next to the river. She turned and sized them up, watching each of their reactions. Karria reacted shyly at first, kicking some dirt gently and staring at the ground. Jakob stared impassively back at her, not challenging nor submissing. Red grinned toothily back at her, a flash of almost ironic intellect behind his eyes for a moment.

'All in all, an interesting group.' She mused, shifting to her other leg and rubbing her chin.

She smiled serenely, "Well, I guess I should introduce myself first. My name is Miela of the Willows, I'm very experienced with magic, and I'm going to be making your life hell for the next three weeks."


	2. A challenger appears!

Note from the author: Hi guys, I'm Red. If you're read Riverlight or Oceanfire, you may notice a similarity of character. The reason behind this is that the author of those two and I are collaborating these stories. Please read and review, I take all sorts of constructive criticism. On with the show!

Red hung limply from his ankle, a rope wound tight around it, suspending him above the ground. From the looks of it, he'd stumbled across the Ranger's encampment, due to the lack of finesse or explosions around. Just one simple job for Miela, one simple thing he had to do! He crossed his arms as he considered his options.

"I could burn the rope, but I might get hurt..." He spoke aloud to himself, deep in thought. "Lightning strike would electrocute me..." His eyes lit up and he uncrossed his arms. Struggling to keep his aim stright, a blue aura surrounded his hand. He grunted as the small blue orb left his hand and floated upward with no sign of urgency.

"A lazy man casts a lazy spell." Mused Red, watching in annoyance as the orb finally hit the rope, freezing it solid just below the tree branch that the rope was wrapped around. As the freeze took hold completely, Red began swinging gently at first, increasing more and more. There was a few cracks, and then the rope snapped. With a dull thud, Red acquainted himself with the ground, clumsily landing on his face and upper chest, his legs trying to continue the momentum above him. Through will power alone, he kicked his legs back down to the ground, a small trail of dust raising from where he landed.

It was a week since training under Miela began, and not much had changed socially. Miela proved a sadistic tyrant with a funny accent, Karria could still barely tolerate Red's presence, and Jakob was aloof to the whole process beyond learning the spells and learning them well. Training thus far had yielded their successful Flare attacks, as well as basic ice spells. While Karria and Red were progressing normally, Jakob had advanced to new spells already, having mastered the basics in the first few days. Deemed the gifted one in their group, Miela was giving him the works, while leaving Karria and Red their own work.

Currently, Karria and Red had been heading off towards a practising range that Miela had used for them earlier. Karria decided that sticking to the road was going to be fastest, and had refused to follow Red through the forest to the target range. Unfortunately, she had been proven right, as usual.

Climbing slowly off the ground, Red patted himself down. First thing to check for was injuries, which he had none of beyond being sore. Confident that he could find his way from here, he marched off, determined to catch up with the girl whom hated him so.

'I must be a magnet for freaks...' Karria thought blandly, trying hard to pay attention to the man infront of her. From the useful information he'd given her, his name was Siegfried, and he worked in one of the cells in her age group. He had dark hair and dark eyes to match. His skin was a tone darker than hers, while a farmers tan marked his arms. He was a warrior, not surprising given his size, and that he found her very attractive.

She'd left the big dumb redhead at a hypothetical fork in the road, as he argued that it would cut down on a lot of time to cut through the forest. She had a friend in the Ranger's encampment, who'd showed Karria where the trapping lessons happened, and that was right where he'd be walking. She had parted company with him about half an hour ago, and there was no sign of him.

It was apparent that this Siegfried guy thought himself terribly charming, because he kept throwing toothy smiles around, and flexing subtly. He was about to tell her about his latest quest to slay the Dragon of Mount. Place-No-One-But-Me-Has-Been-To, when her red haired companion finally walked in through the gate. Karria smiled at his appearance, then shifted it to Siegfried.

"As fascinating as this is, my partner is here." She went to step past him when a muscular arm slammed into the wall beside her.

"Where do you think you're going? I wasn't done!" He demanded, his thick eyebrows coming down angrily over his trollish eyes.

"My friend is here, we need to practice." She replied, trying to move under his arm, anything to avoid a scene.

"What, that red haired shrimp over there?" He snickered. "Come with me, babe, we'll have loads of fun. I'll be your guardian angel!"

She narrowed her eyes at him and put a hand behind her back as she was pushed back in front of him. "I think you'll need one more--" her threat was cut short as a fist impacted against the warriors face, an audible crack that sent the warrior off balance and head first into the wall beside him. Limply, he fell to the floor unconscious.

"Ow!" Red yelped, shaking his fist. "I broke a knuckle on that troll's dumb face!" he whined, clutching at his hand tenderly. It was turning an uncomfortable shade of purple.

Karria rolled her eyes, grabbing at his hand. She'd taken a secondary interest in healing, so she knew some basic healing spells. How to mend bleeding wounds and set bones back together was essentially all she knew. Perfect for this occasion.

"Lemme see your hand you big baby." She turned it over, looking at it severely. She placed her hands over both of his and a blue light shone out, as well as some slightly disturbing noises as his bones reformed. Luckily they were the only three in the building, so there was no scene to be had.

The spell finished it's work, but she didn't let go of his hand. Instead, she pulled him forward into a light hug.

"Thank you for doing that... It was very gentlemanly." She murmured.

"It was a pleasure, m'lady."

"Tell anyone I hugged you and you'll be on the receiving end of spells that Jacob has no grasp of. We clear?" She pulled herself out of the hug and glared at him.

"Crystal." He replied, his smirk going away to be replaced with mocking fear.

Siegfried stirred below them, and began to wake up. Karria turned and began to march for the door, turning as she reached it to stare at the confused Red.

"You caught him by surprise last time, I don't think you'd last in a straight fist fight with him." She raised a brow at him as he pondered this latest observation.

"You probably have a point."

"I know I do."

"Let's be off then, yes?

"Let's."


	3. And the world is a silent place

Miela watched in frustration as Jakob failed again to cast the Meteor Shower spell. It was advanced, yes, but lately it seemed that all his spells were getting weaker. The most he could get was a few fiery stones to fall. Nothing that was substantial in comparison to his previous skill and talent. She rubbed her forehead thoughtfully, concealing her look of disappointment behind her hand. She had really thought he was going to get places, maybe receive High Magic awards from the Academy. This goal was becoming more and more distant however.

"Alright Jakob... One more time." She sighed and listened to the ever silent man take a few steps away. Boredly, she turned and looked down the hill. Regent valley this time of year was beautiful, also nearly the farthest place from the war with the Charr, just beyond Ascalonian walls. Birds twittered, sun shone, and just as an undertone, there was the subtle sound of Rangers training their Melandru's Stalkers.

It was well into the second week of training, and Miela was fearful. Originally her plan was to present Jakob to the council of Elders and cover for her general slacking with her other two students. However at this rate, they'd all pass off at Average in the general scheme of things. Miela didn't like average; average meant that you didn't work hard enough. She sighed and stood up from her seat below a tree. She yawned and stretched, her eyes watering in the process. Gently, she patted the young man on the shoulder and he jumped.

Miela pointed back at town and murmured that she needed to talk to the other two students. Jakob shrugged and followed her down the hill and back onto the dirt road. They settled into a walking pace as they started back towards Ashford Abbey.

"So, where did you live before the academy?" Miela asked, hoping to find out a little bit about her student that she'd been focusing on.

Jakob shrugged.

"You don't know where you lived?" Miela teased with a chuckle.

Another shrug.

"Are you listening to anything I say?" She questioned, starting to notice something was off. She suddenly realized he'd never spoken to her, merely stared at her when she spoke, and followed his instructions perfectly.

"Can you hear me?" She said softly, while looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

No reaction from the young man. His gaze rested coldly on the horizon. Quietly she slowed a little, and tapped on his shoulder again. He jumped again before turning to look at her. She pointed at her ears and demanded.

"Are you deaf?"

Jakob looked uncomfortable for the first time. He didn't look directly at her and began turning red. He slowly nodded and spoke for the first time.

"Yes." The word was there, but the sound was slightly off. He sounded unsure of himself, and the word actually slurred the letters together. She could almost imagine the lips moving correctly, but the tongue not working properly at all.

He glared at a nearby tree, and the air intensified slowly. Something imperceivable unless one could attune themselves to the air. Miela put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. It worked, slightly, although now he was glaring at her. She smiled at him, speaking before she thought.

"My little brother was deaf... S'okay, you're no less of a person." She emphasized her lip movements for him, and the glare lessened. She began walking again, and he followed.

The silent walk lasted until they entered Ashford Abbey. There, Red and Karria were sitting around a table drinking a dark liquid. Red's face was flushed the colour of his name, and he smiled stupidly. Karria blushed and looked awkward. As Miela and Jakob approached, they wrinkled their noses at the smell of Mead that Red had been guzzling. Karria was still on her first glass, although didn't look entirely in control. Red smiled up at Miela, his gaze surprisingly serious in comparison to his demeanor.

"Hi there, profeshure." He slurred, keeping his eyes locked on Miela's own. Something was not right with this scene. Miela didn't realize what it was for a while, but the way Red's gaze maintained her own disturbed her slightly. Not to say he was creepy or anything of the sort, but rather that she'd underestimated his intelligence. At the moment however, she was just confused about it.

"You done with wounder boy over there?" He gestured vaguely, his finger pointing right past Jakob. "When're you gunna teach us stuff'n spells?" Red slurred some more, resting his head on his hands.

Miela blushed as she was called out by this drunken teenager. He was right, she wasn't doing her job, and this needed to change, however...

"What are you talking about you drunken slob? I've given you plenty of jobs and assignments to do!"

"Yeah. Practice Flare, practice Aura of restoration, practice Fire Storm. When're we gunna start learning the stuff you're teaching him?"

Once again, he got her. She really hadn't anticipated this. She was coming back to Ashford to apologize, and hope they hadn't noticed much. She looked at Karria for support, but she looked away and sniffed again. Then she hiccuped.

"Fine, tomorrow, we'll spend the day catching up to Jakob. You two need to go to bed though, and drink some water!" Miela screeched, blushing.

"Fine!" Red cried and stood up. At first he wobbled, nearly falling back into the chair, but managed to stay up. Karria stood slowly, almost as shaky as Red. The two tipsy elementalists linked arms and supported each others way up the stairs.

Red kicked open the door to their room, using Karria as a support, and she giggled. The two fell into the shared room, too drunk for the indecency. Karria pulled herself into a sitting position on her bed, continuing to giggle like a school girl. Red continued to lay on the floor, although titled his head to look at his fellow student.

"Whas so funny?" He demanded, an indignant look showing.

"You and your high and -hic- mighty act on Lady Miela! -Hic- You actually got her good!" She continued to hiccup, although the intervals got slower each time. Eventually, she stopped and soberness began to return. Red still lay on the floor, too lazy and drunk to move. She sighed and lay down on her bed, the alcohol in her system still keeping her happy, but less silly.

"You know... I really like you..." Came the voice from the floor, a slurred quality still apparent. She sat up slowly, turning to look at him in the dark. The moonlight shone picturesquely on the red haired man as he dozed and spoke.

"I guess maybe you're asleep." He slurred, sounding less and less conscious each time he spoke.

"At any rate, Karria, I really like you, will you be my friend? Through thick and thin, til ugly monsters do us part?" He spoke as if he were mostly in dream land at this point, a misty quality on the words he spoke.

"Erm... Sure." Karria replied, too shocked to really say anything more than that.

"Mmm... Good, maybe someday... We can be... Lo--" The words were cut off as sleep finally took him.

She released the breath she didn't know she was holding. Her hands unclenched from the blanket underneath her.

"Good night then, friend."

Well, another chapter done. I'm not as happy as I should be, but I figure I should get these chapters out. This story admittedly has no direction character wise at the moment, so I'll figure out what'll come of Jakob, and how Karria and Red fare.

Please read and review! It keeps me writing this story!


	4. The Searing, part 1

**Well, I waited, and was rewarded with a single review! I'm happy about my reviewer! I like you. For you, I'll keep writing! P**

**On with the show!**

Karria opened her eyes slowly, a wave of nausea washing over her as fast as consciousness. She sat up, grabbing at her head and belly simultaneously. The sunlight pouring through the window was an unwelcome annoyance. She gave up making herself feel better, choosing instead to roll over and hide her face from the light which Grenth was cursing her with at that moment. A few minutes of nursing her own ailments, and Karria sat up, looking for her partner in crime. She found him, huddled up in a corner, in a position that couldn't possibly be comfortable. Reaching over, she nudged him.

"Hey, sleepy head. Up." She grumbled. He stirred and brushed her hand off him mumbling incoherently.

"Up I said!" Karria tried again.

"Mmmwhat?!" Demanded a still sleepy Red, rolling out of the corner.

"We've got serious training to do!" She replied, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Oh... Right, I went all high and Mighty on Mrs. Favoritism, didn't I...?" Red pinched the bridge of his nose, warding off a headache before it arrived. He stood up slowly, stooping under the short roof, scratching his head and yawning. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like hell, although he was moving. Her task accomplished, Karria grabbed his wrist and threw him out of the room, slamming the door as she heard his head impact the opposite wall in the corridor. He yelped, and no more was heard.

She changed quickly into clean uniform before checking herself in a looking glass. Patting her hair down briefly, she put it back into a bun and marched out of the room.

As she shut the door and locked it, she turned and nearly tripped over the body of a living hang over. Red was in a fetal position, clutching his head and murmuring that things were too loud. She grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm over her shoulders, dragging the larger man down the steps of the abbey. At the bottom sat Miela, reading over a few scrolls with a mug of water sitting next to her. She smiled as they approached, putting the parchment back into her bag.

"Well, you asked for it, you'll have it. The training of a high level sorcerer in one day. Prepare for a level of hell as yet unknown." She continued to smile serenely.

"Bitch..." Murmured Red, pulling himself onto his own two legs.

To begin, the three elementalists began with training their focus, building up the elements within their own minds and holding the power for as long as possible. This allowed them to conceive larger and larger spells. This proved a slight challenge to Karria, who had a tendency to grow anxious when the power felt too much. This proved nearly impossible for Red, who's hangover interefered with casting flare properly. This cleared up after a while though, and after Miela dumped a bucket of ice water on his head. The day seemed to get hotter and hotter, but not humid as it was normally. It felt like being on the edge of a campfire. There was a dryness on the breeze which worried Miela. She focused harder on her training.

This form of meditation ended around lunch, when both of Miela's charges could hold their concentration for five minutes, under attack by Miela and a very sharp stick. While Miela began to prepare lunch, Karria set about healing her wounds, and continuing onto Red's gouges and scrapes.

"Old woman wanted revenge for last night..." He murmured as the blue aura fell over a large gash on his cheek. The flesh healed over quickly, leaving no mark. He raised his hand to check his cheek, and brushed Karria's accidentally. The young girl blushed lightly and got up to help Miela with lunch. Red continued to examine his healed wounds, oblivious to his blushing companion.

Lunch consisted of roasted Moa cooked on a spit. It was filling, although not very tasty. They drank from Miller Upton's farm and resumed their training, beginning with Meteor. At first, the teen's spells were weaker than those of Jakob's the previous day, but they continued, and their spells got better and better, sometimes crudely critiquing each other, other times genuinely giving advice. The first to accomplish the spell was Karria, who targeted it at a group of wurms in a farmer's field. Red later copied the idea, although hitting a wolf who was running at him.

The day progressed slowly, spells being flung all around Green Hills Country, however the wind grew harsher and harsher, and the clouds from the north turned an ominous orange and black. Miela stood at the gate of Ashford Abbey, and shifted her weight to her other foot. Red approached from behind her, a flagon of water in one hand. He stood opposite her at the gate, watching the clouds come in. Miela began to speak without acknowledging him.

"I'm to Ascalon City... These clouds worry me, and they may need me on the line." She spoke, lost in thought.

"I figured as much. I'll put the kiddies to bed in your absence." he replied with a smirk

"Thanks." She turned and walked weakly towards the stables, Red in pursuit. She opened the door to one of the horses and brought it out, patting it's neck softly.

"Red, I confide in you that I've had a bad feeling since this morning. There's something not right in the air. The magicks are twisted." She spoke softly, turning to look him in the eye. His lazy composure dropped, and his eyes grew hard.

"I understand. I'll keep them out of trouble if I can." He replied, stepping out of the way of the door as she mounted the black horse.

Without another glance, she spurred the horse forward, quickly disappearing around the gate. The echo of her hoof falls grew distant, and then silence remained. Red quietly walked back to the front doors of the abbey, swinging them open with a long drawn out creak. The inside was deserted, save for Jakob and Karria, who appeared unsettled in the evening stillness. Red internally remarked that there was nothing to hear. No cicadas, nor crickets. No Owls or birds.

Karria and Jakob sat at a table, Jakob sunken into the chair in what looked like a sulk. Karria sat primly, although worried. Their eyes turned to Red as he approached. He rested his hand on Karria's shoulder and addressed Jakob.

"We're in for one wild night."

No sooner than the words had been uttered than the first explosion went off. In the distance it sounded like thunder, however they knew it wasn't, as it came too loud to be thunder. Jakob looked confused at the noise, before standing up and marching to the window. In the distance, Ascalon city burned brightly, a torrent of black smoke filling the night sky. Red's eyes widened at the scene in the distance. Then turned and ran for the front door. Carefully, he opened the door, looking towards the catacombs. He could hear snarls coming from the deep, and metal on flesh.

Slamming the door shut again, Red sprinted across the stone floor of the Abbey, grabbing Karria's wrist.

"Jakob, extinguish the candles in the room, we've got company! I want you to go to your room and grab your wand and focus. Karria and I will take post on the roof. You camp at the top of the staircase and wait. No lights!" He growled and pulled Karria shakily towards the stairs. She stumbled a few times on the stairs as Red barreled up them. They reached the top and he kicked in their door. Once inside, he swept over to his bedside, grabbing his staff from under the mattress. Karria stood dumbfounded at the door, still too in shock to react.

"Where's your weapon?!" he demanded, advancing on her. She remained blank, looking off into the space between them. In the hall, Jakob padded to the top of the stairs and a few grunting sounds were heard. Red's eyes widened and he grabbed Karria's shoulders to move her out of the way. As Red looked out and down the hall, Jakob was no where to be seen. He stepped into the hallway, walking to the stairs and looking down them. In the windows at the bottom, he could make out several shapes moving around. He went to take a step back, and found his mouth being muffled by a hand. He wanted to scream, but then looked up. Jacob sat on one of the cross beams in the ceiling. He was quiet enough, and nimble enough, that he could effortlessly attack from the ceiling, while moving about. Red gave him the thumbs up, stepping quietly back towards the room.

Karria remained motionless in the alcove of the doorway. Red brushed past her and carefully lifted the mattress, pulling out a jagged looking staff and forcing it into Karria's hands. She looked cluelessly up at him. He looked her in the eye, cupping her chin in his free hand, bringing her forward into a kiss. She didn't resist for a moment, then jumped, coming back to her senses. She pulled back, and looked ready to begin screaming at him, her face glowing beet red. He silenced her with a finger on her lips, pointing outside.

"We go to the roof, and we ambush. Jakob can hold them off from in here, we'll take the Charr from behind and surprise them." Red whispered, carefully pulling a trap door down. Silently, he ascended the ladder, turning and reaching down to help Karria out onto the roof. Once up, they took their positions above the spying Charr, trying to see who was in the building. There were ten Charr outside the Abbey, and several corpses of Ascalonian Guards littering the ground below. Red growled at the sight of the hewn bodies. Karria looked shocked for a few moments, before coming back to reality, and an anger filled her face. Red picked up a rock from the roof, holding on a ceiling tile. Balancing the tile, he dropped the rock back down the trap door, breaking a few floor boards.

Below them, the Charr surged in through the door, growling and hissing like mongrel Cats. From inside, there was no sound of movement, until suddenly a flash of white lightning exploded out through a window. The last of the Charr charged into the house, and it was at this point that Red and Karria began their attack, jumping from the roof and landing on a bale of hay. They jumped to their feet and charged into the door. Several Charr lay smoking on the ground. Jakob had been knocked out of the rafters and was glaring up at the leading Charr, his arm bent awkwardly and his staff shattered.

The Charr drew his sword and without a moment's hesitation, plunged it into Jakob's body, turning the blade. Jakob gritted his teeth as blood seeped between his lips, but wouldn't scream. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Jakob felt himself slump over, a silent world becoming even more silent around him. But as his weak eyes rolled skyward, he saw the Charr turn and look at his stunned companions. Red began to glow in the aura of a spell, while Karria clasped her heart and screamed for Jakob.

The world turned black around him, the pain in his arm dulled, and eventually disappeared altogether. But in this darkness that waited at the end of the tunnel, Jakob found a spark. A spark which built up until it was a fiery glow. He felt angry, he felt passion, he felt love, hate, all of the most powerful emotions. But most of all, he heard. It started quietly, but it was as though water was cleared from his ears. Sound became louder, more pronounced. The voices of Karria and Red became Harsh and loud, sharp as a sword. However he didn't hear combat. Infact it was gone quickly, leaving a silence that was more natural. He felt strength flowing back into his broken body. He felt like he was the fire. His eyes opened.

He was the fire.

Jakob realized why everything was silent. It was because everyone was staring at him. He became aware that there was a sound. It was him. It was the flames that were licking the air calmly for now. He looked out from under the flames, and looked directly at his compatriots. He smiled widely, an expression that looked so unnatural on his human face. He could feel that he wasn't going to last like this forever. Silently at first, he thanked Balthazar for this gift, but then spoke out loud of it, listening to the sound of his own voice. With his thank yous said, he pointed at Karria and Red.

"Run." Stated the voice of Jakob from out of the Djynn's shell. Red smiled at him, banging his fist on his chest in a salute as he grabbed Karria's wrist, hauling her outside. The night air was hot and stale. It smelled of smoke, burnt fur, and blood. They stood in the abandoned courtyard of Ashford Abbey, the screams of the Charr inside the Abbey muffled by the stone walls. A Charr body shot through one of the windows of the abbey, impacting against the wall across the courtyard. It was clearly dead by the time it hit the wall, but it's bones shattered sickeningly and it squeaked.

"Karria, we need to get out of here." Red stated, adrenaline pumping through him. His usually lazy eyes were wide with fear and anger, his jaw clenched.

"We should try to get to Fort Ranik."

**Well, that's the end of that chapter. I'll be writing a part 2 for this, the searing is exciting to write!**


	5. The Searing, Part 2

_I do apologize to my humble readers, and I beg you not to hold this great pause against me. I showed this to my girlfriend and she was uncomfortable about Red and Kar. At her request, I stopped writing, but I fortunately received some advice from a friend that my girlfriend shouldn't have bearing over my creative ideas._

Red and Karria stumbled through the remains of the Abbey, the smell of blood and burnt fur strong on the wind as it billowed gently out of the catacombs. As the pair ran, Karria slipped and fell, screaming as she realized she had slipped on a dismembered hand. The bloody appendage spiraled away as she kicked it, Red swooping down and covering her mouth. She squeaked, but appeared to understand the idea, keeping herself quiet, she stood up, taking Red's offered hand. The two resumed their sprint, reaching the inner doors of the Catacombs and turning down a small path that led behind a ruined temple. Normally, this stone path was dry, however on this fateful night, the floors were wet with a substance that neither of them looked too closely at. Rounding another bend, they ran smack into a dead gargoyle, it's skin half ripped off. Distantly a statue of Grenth billowed cold air, the source of all the air flow in the cavern.

Any other day, this cavern was occupied by many, many gargoyles, however today, nothing but corpses and blood smears existed. The pair of elementalists slowed down slightly, using this small time to catch their breaths. Karria was the first to stand straight again, watching Red as he caught his breath some more.

"I've got no sense of direction, I can't tell where we are!" She exclaimed.

"Uh... Got a map?" Red replied, finally catching his breath. He'd said it in sarcasm, however his companion reached into her pocket and withdrew a folded paper. Red stared at her incredulously.

"Where did you get that?!" he demanded, awkwardly aware of the echo of his voice in this area.

She ignored him and unfolded the map, rotating it a few times before fixating it properly. Red reached a hand over and struck a flame that rested above his finger as a sort of candle. Unfortunately it also gave the outline of some of the carnage that was nearby. Red grimaced and softened the flame, relieved that Karria hadn't noticed it, and also that the darkness was slowly retaking the fallen corpses. Karria raised her arm and pointed across the winding path towards and old door, the gates having fallen off their hinges long ago.

"The map says that way will take us towards Barradin's Estate." Karria's voice was steadier now that she was getting used to the smell of blood.

"Right, so let's get going." Red grabbed her hand and took off, half dragging Karria behind him as he ran.

There seemed no end to the dark tunnels and corridors they followed, some were more developed, as if ancient Ascalon cities had fallen down below, and others were merely cracks in the wall that had widened with the passage of time After they had been wandering of about half an hour, Red slowed his pace. They'd come to a large underground cathedral, the architecture being quite identifiably Ascalonian. Each window had a different God or Goddess with their signature colours making the definition in the windows. The pews were still intact, although old, and just having a dry place to hide for a while was what they needed.

As the pair entered, candles and torches rose to life. Red straightened slightly, while Karria jumped and looked around, slightly panicked. Realizing what might have just happened, Red approached the door frame and felt along it's ancient bricks. Sure enough, runes were embedded along the door.

"It's alright, it's an enchantment on the Cathedral. Whenever someone enters, the torches will light. The Last Homely House, so to speak." Red stated, turning back towards the inside of the Cathedral.

Karria looked up towards the stained glass on the ceiling, and could barely make out the moon through them. When looking through Dwayna's window, Karria made out the moon directly over head, while looking through Grenth's window was looking to be between one and two in the morning.

"It's been a long time since we slept... Or ate, for that matter." She noted, feeling her fatigue catch up with her.

"Do you think any of the priests beds would have survived this long?" Red replied, beginning to examine the cathedral in closer detail, testing the pews gently before sitting on them.

"I shouldn't think so... But then again, it looks like this building just sunk into the ground. You can see the whole that it sunk in just by looking up!"

Red got up and made for the altar at the front of the cathedral. The Altar looked relatively undisturbed, although a skeleton lay at the foot of it. He was relieved to note that the skeleton looked quite old, far older than any of the corpses they'd found so far. He turned, approaching a door to the left of the altar. In the olden days, Monks would stay in their cathedrals, maybe, he reasoned, the beds would still be here. He tried the door, but it was locked. Glancing to make sure Karria was looking, he stepped back and gave the door a solid kick.

Suppressing a yelp as it felt like his bones shattered in his foot, the door opened quickly, hitting the adjacent wall. The gloom of the new room revealed a desk, as well as several beds. Most were in disarray, the blankets having become moth eaten with age. As with the previous hall, torches slowly lit in this room as well. There was a single window across the chamber, with rock 2 inches beyond the window, ambush from that angle was impossible. Having cleared the door frame, and with Karria out of sight, Red lifted his foot and clutched it, hopping around frantically.

"You alright in there?" Karria called. "I don't want to have to waste more healing on a dope like you!" Ah, thought Red, she's back to being sarcastic with me.

"Yeah, I'm alright, and the beds are pretty much fine in here too!"

Hurried foot falls were heard and the small lady appeared in the door way, looking excited.

"Beds?" She entered the room and threw herself experimentally down on a bed. It creaked, but gave no indication of collapsing. She grinned.

"Seems like the beds are safe." She stated, snuggling deeper into her mattress.

"Great!" Red exclaimed, pulling his tunic up over his head as he walked towards a bed.

"Hey! I don't wanna see you naked!"

"Pity that." Red relpied, winking at her. "Relax, I'm just taking my shirt off."

She grumbled, but soon they torches dimmed and they lay in their separate beds. Distant sounds of battle could be heard if they held their breaths, but it was above them, not in the catacombs. All was quiet below the surface. Which was ironic given that neither of them could get themselves to sleep.

Karria kept running the events of the night through her mind. Several times she nearly broke down and wept over Jakob's loss, despite the fact that she didn't really know him. And the dismembered hand returned to haunt her several times. After a while, she got out of her bed and walked across the room to Red's bed. He lay awake as well, although his expression was unreadable. Gently she climbed in next to him, wrapping around one of his arms.

He snapped back to reality as this was happening and gave her a shocked look.

"I'm just cold." She replied, not meeting his gaze. He tok his arm back from her, and she looked outraged for the moment. Then, he wrapped her in an embrace. At this point, she burst into tears. Everything from the bodies, to Jakob, to the gargoyles even. She'd had enough. Softly, she cried herself to sleep.

Red had tried to hush and comfort her as much as possible, but internally, he was really confused. He thought she'd hated him, for the most part. Amazingly she was curling up to him now, without a flagon of ale in sight! As she drifted off, his mind sped up, as he reflected on the goings on that night. He drifted to sleep soon afterwards, a feeling of peace coming from the bundle of heat in his arms. He slept with a small smile.

Several miles away, and fifty meters or so up, Miela was picking herself up off the ground, spitting some blood aside on the bricks of Ascalon city. Her opponent was a large Charr Shaman, the rest of his horde having split up to continue the sack of the city, she had rode in just in time to have her mount fried by a lightning bolt. The magical battle had ensued from there. Her hair was singed in places, and she was bleeding from several small cuts across her body and face.

"This has been one hell of a night..." She mumbled, feeling that her mana reserves were nearing their end. Enigmatically, the Charr snorted at her and pointed his staff once more at her. As if this wasn't bad enough, her cramps had begun on the ride over to the city. Her magic was automatically depleted by that.

A bolt of fire shot out of the Shaman's staff, and she rolled to the side to avoid it, noting that the bricks where she had stood exploded and returned to sand. She struggled back to her feet and launched a fireball of her own. It fizzled in the air a meter before the Shaman, and he scoffed at her. She collapsed to her knees as a purple aura surrounded her. She could tell. This was it. She'd put up a good fight, but it was just too much for her.

She sat back as time seemed to slow down, and she looked at the Charr Shaman. She'd done significant damage to it, now that she was noticing. It was bleeding severely and a lot of it's fur had been burnt away to burn the skin underneath. The only way it was still standing was a higher tolerance for pain, but even that had it's limits. She knew which spell has just been used on her. She only had a few seconds to take the charr down before the spell would take it's effects. Quickly she lunged to her feet, pulling her staff towards her quickly, She saw the weakness in it's eyes as she placed the staff infront of her, making a hand signal, a firey explosion took place around her and launched a flaming Phoenix from her spot. The flames around her singed the ground and burned the grass.

White lightning hit from above her as the Shaman's spell kicked in. She screamed in agony as every hair stood on end and her muscles spasmed. She landed on the ground in the middle of her own scorch mark. The world around her was fizzling out and she weakly looked at the Charr Shaman. The Phoenix hit it head on and it buckled over. The firey bird took the top half of it's body with it, leaving the legs standing completely still, the tail thrashing about. She grinned viciously at the body as she felt herself losing consciousness.

"So this is what it's like to die?" She murmured. "It feels rather... Dizzy..." With that, it all went quiet.

_Extra long to make up for everything. I'm sorry again for the delay! I'm also discovering that I like making situations really bad before they get better. I'll figure out my bearings for the next chapter. See ya'll later!_


End file.
